Mind Over Matter
by CreepyReapers
Summary: The crew is finally coming together again as the imminent threat of Reapers draws ever closer. Looking for any solace from growing pressure among her squad mates, Shepard seeks out new missions. Things turn chaotic after a small exploration turns into something much bigger. ME3 based/ Shakarian.
1. Ship Without Sails

-A Ship Without Sails-

A slow black haze lifted from the Turians eyes as his talons glided across the hub in the Main Battery with frightening precision. How long had he stood there with nothing but the metallic hums of generators filling his ears ? Every swear he muttered to himself bounced off the metallic walls and machines as if they fed off any organic life crazy enough to linger for longer than a minute inside that room. _Just like the damned Reapers_ , he'd thought, speeding up his algorithms just from the the mention of those horrific killers. He shifted his weight between both legs, hoping to stir what little energy left back to life. The _Normandy_ had to be in quintessential condition, nothing but the best for his Commander and her crew. He knew nothing could stop him, not sleep, not even Shep-

"Garrus, it's late. Shouldn't you be getting some rest?" He'd been so focused on atom chargers and unit stabilizers he'd blocked out the sound of metallic screeching as the doors opened. Her voice was like a symphony after the constant hums of working metal. It had never been this soft, though. He finished his last calculation before turning to her "Why Commander, are you worried about me?" a little shameless banter was just the way she liked it. She always had a way of taking charge even in the darkest of hours. He'd respected that, for that was the true measure of Turian strength and to find it radiating so brilliantly off a human, no less. She did die and come back after all. Something that had haunted him for years as he battled through the masses of degenerate mercenary clans, hoping to do the name of Shepard justice, however small it had been. But there she stood with her red hair, like fire and blue eyes as deep as water, how contradicting the human species were. No natural armor to encase their soft extremities, no sharp teeth or claws to defend themselves from enemies, yet here they stood, thriving and living like any other race. Her lips curled into a smile to show her blunt, white teeth, another thing Garrus found amusing- Smiling. Something adapted through the races from humans, thanks to how infectious it had spread. Baring teeth before had been nothing but a warning, a visual threat to warn others to back off. He'd never gotten use to it, but he couldn't argue that he didn't enjoy it.

"Just want to make sure you're well rested for tomorrow, can't have you falling asleep while watching my six now, can I? " she teased, He chuckled. The drop off turning into a rumble as his translator clawed, desperately looking for a word to replace it with.

He shuffled his feet,"I'd never let you down, Shepard." trying to shake sleep from his mind. Realizing the tenderness that replaced his stark words he quickly averted his eyes and locked them to the floor. Damn translator, why'd that come out so...sympathetic . He made a mental note to check for malfunctions later,, something had to be off. "I know, Garrus." Shepard retaliated with a matching tenderness, "You are one of the few I can trust on this ship. One of my most loyal and fiercest friends." She took a few steps forward placing her hand on his arm, and oh how warm she felt, so alive. It wasn't typical for Shepard to be so physical, at least not off the battlefield. Garrus didn't budge, too afraid to let this slip through his fingers. But she was human after all and nothing would come of this but unending shame to both races. "You're right, Commander. I should head to bed before I'm useless tomorrow. And so should you, The Normandy without its Commander is... ehm, what's the metaphor you humans have for it... damn, i can never get this one right..." his mandibles flared as his nerves set in, thinking of her warm soft hand around his arm. Now overthinking it, and panicking. "A ship without a sail?" she batted back, without even taking a moment to search for the answer, as if she already knew before he even began to speak. She was too good at reading him, knowing what he was thinking. Her hand moved up towards his shoulder tracing his armour lightly on it's way up. _Quickly, say something to stall her!_ "Right. Ships, no sails. I'll try that one again another day." he huffed, sentences became shorter thanks to his growing anxiety. Damn her.

Shepard giggled, a strange noise he'd never heard escape her soft ,red human lips before. _What the hell was going on?_ The fearless Commander had turned into a love-struck schoolgirl. He'd heard a lot of humans (and a few Turians) from C-Sec use the term before, for any girl who mistook their inebriated roll in the hay as a mark for marriage. What the hell was hay, anyway? Damn humans and their euphemisms, they were way too catchy. How long had he stood there, battling with himself on the subject of human expressions?

Shepard was closer now, he could feel her shallow, smalls breaths against his neck as she inched her hand towards it. "How about later,in my quarters. I could show you a thing or two about rolling in the hay, Vakarian."

"Wait. What?" Garrus took a step back, but Shepard advanced with surprising speed, closing whatever gap he'd created. Her hand now tracing up his jaw line, tracing the scars along his mandible and cheek. Her breath hot against his face as blue eyes bore into his. Slowly his arms found their way around her waist and even he'd been shocked by his actions, his subconscious screaming at him to never let go. He could hear them already, the outbursts and insults from both races. They'd shun them both for sure. Garrus Vakarian former C-Sec Officer, Archangel and Human Lover. To see Shepard encased in his arms, the last one didn't sound so bad. ' _Fuck them.'_ he thought, _'Our whole universe may come to a screeching halt in a matter of days so why the hell not ?'_

"Vakarian," she said softly, smiling "That wasn't exactly an objection." noting his silence.

Her words lingered in his ears, and how he wished they'd stay there forever. Oh,Spirits. How strongly he wanted to pull away, to convince himself that this was wrong in so many ways. But the one woman he'd ever considered stronger than him lay soundly in his arms, waiting for him. The one person in the world he could lean on without fear of falling, whom he trusted with every fiber of his body. "Not in a million years." he managed to purr out before going in to kiss her. Another strange thing humans did with their mouths he'd seen while walking through the Citadel. As alien to him as the girl he was kissing Garrus slowly warmed up to the sensation, although his mouth was hardly made for it. Gnawing and biting, causing massive damage, maybe-but not kissing. Shepard didn't seem to mind just how much of a rookie Garrus was at the whole kissing thing. His grip tightened around her as she trailed his scars with light touches of her lips. How long had it been since he had felt so alive? Maybe he never had been until then.

A low rumble bellowed from his chest as her skin touched his unarmoured neck, feeling her blunt teeth sinking into exposed skin. The deep rumble in his chest emanating into a purr which escaped from his mouth caused her to stop, meeting the turians startled look with wide eyes. Had she realized how crazy this was and come to her senses? He'd hoped not. His arms already cold from her withdrawal, he couldn't imagine the universe without those soft lips on him. "Shepard I-" he fumbled ,scanning for anything he might've done to push her away.

"Did you just PUR?!" A voice shot out of the darkness, using Shepard's lips to speak like a puppet on a string. The darkness engulfed her, Shepard's presence receding until not even her scent was left behind. The world grew gloomy and still for a few heart beats and he'd cursed at himself for not realizing it sooner…

Light flooded into view, cleansing the lingering images in his mind as he rubbed his forehead in disappointment . Stale light from the ceiling of the Normandy's Crew Barracks and the pissed off look on Jack's face drew him out of his groggy state, already missing the absurd dream his mind conjured up, the pit in his stomach twisting.

"Just the person I want to wake up to..." he sighed , ramping up the sarcasm to the max in hopes she would just go throw a fit somewhere else. Garrus knew better, Jack never backed down from a fight.

Jack folded her arms, contorting her mouth into the most disgusted of frowns, "Cut that shit out!" her harsh voice hurting his eardrums from volume alone. Jack only knew two ways to voice her thoughts, loud and very loud,"I can't sleep when there's a damn Turian moaning and having weird sex dreams three beds over!" That got Garrus going. With one quick swoop he was out of bed, and if he could've blushed it would've been a dead giveaway that the following was nothing more than a bluff, "We purr when we sleep, it's the equivalent of humans snoring." he argued, already opening the door leading to the Crew Facilities ,"which you do rather loudly!" he added as the mechanical doors quickly closed. He could hear it then, muffled swearing from the other side of the door followed by loud clamoring and a surge of biotic charges.

Shepard would not be thrilled.

Pushing his fresh dream to the furthest stretches of his mind, he headed down the hallway hoping no one would pick this day for idle chit-chat with an already frustrated Turian. If there were ever a chance for rapid evolution that would give him the chance to spew acid from his mouth , it would be today.

The Mess hall was deserted just as he had hoped, it was four in the morning after all. Even after all the commotion Jack had made no one stirred from their slumber. Most of the ship consisting of humans meant 8 hour rest periods for the entire crew. Turians slept for only half of that time, given that they weren't plagued by nightmares. Conditioned from a young age to be soldiers, sleep was usually the last thing on the priority list. No time to lay around and dream of beautiful wome- _stop that._ Growing pressure closed around his neck and the thought of Dream Shepard nipping at him with her odd teeth surfaced once again. Nerves very well close to their peak at such an early hour, Garrus stalked over to the coffee machines.

There were three in all, happily whirling with life as burners kept the smell fresh in the air. The last machine had seen some use, it chugged with a greater effort than the others. Someone had taken tape and slapped the word 'DEXTRO' in sloppy handwriting to it's glass pot. His first week aboard the Normandy Joker had found it amusing to switch the two around, resulting in a full sick bay and a stop at the Citadel for a restock of antihistamines. Joker was never good at knowing when to quit.

Grabbing the lukewarm cup he'd just poured, Garrus headed for the Main Battery. His safe haven, a spot where most humans -save for Shepard on occasion- dared to enter. The Spirits had blessed him with devout concentration and persistence within it's confines. Surely the nightmares couldn't reach him there, not when the console beckoned him to calibrate.

Garrus's motions became increasingly robotic as time went on, lights scanning complex mathematical variants with the Normandy's schematics, calculating better weapon outputs. The residual emotions from his lucid dream became less of a reality and in time he saw Shepard for who she really was again. Commander Shepard, First Human Spectre, Savior of the Citadel! Not some silly turian-crazed schoolgirl he'd conjured up in spite of his loneliness. How he quietly wished he could have the best of both worlds.

His calculation faltered and lights blipped to remind him of his mistake, _'This is all wrong. I need to get off this ship and blow off some steam.'_.At a loss he leaned over the terminal, his mind between work and those blue eyes of hers. Garrus had been so ensnared by his thoughts he failed to hear the mechanical whine of the Main Battery doors once again.

"Garrus, it's late. Shouldn't you be getting some rest?" His Commander's voice, stark in nature with a tinge of worry pressed him for an answer. _What a hell of a day this was starting off to be..._


	2. The Unkown

Commander Shepard leaned against the Main Battery doors sinking into a hip and folding her arms. She must've startled her hard working friend, his whole body had tensed at the sound of her voice. Relaxing a little after the initial shock she noticed his shoulders dropped, losing their usual prideful posture. He must've been there all night, the stress weighing heavily on him.

"Those calibrations can wait till after you've had some rest." She tacked on after the long silence.

"Had all the rest I could handle today, Commander." He replied flatly. Shepard let out a quiet sigh of relief, so he wasn't so far gone in his work to ignore her- but wait, had he just called her Commander? Last she had checked it was just the two of them, what was with the formality? Maybe he was pissed off at her after all, or maybe he'd been having nightmares just as bad as hers.

"Nightmares again?" she dismissed his harsh tone along with his refusal to turn towards her. "You could say that." he said after a sigh, his sub vocals were cut short and his voice had lost it's usual smoky trill, no part of him had time for her. Garrus never seemed so withdrawn, unless his nights were filled with the agony of losing his team on Omega. "I'm always here if you need to talk, Garrus." Shepherds concern reaching out to one of her closest friends, hoping he'd let her in.

"Not right now." _Oh no, here comes that famous line_ she'd already pushed herself away from the Main Battery door, "I'm in the middle of some calibrations.". He'd always say that, but this time it had cut deep and with no promise of a raincheck. She wanted to help him as much as he'd helped her, to always be that person he could come to in times of need. Hell, she wanted to be that person for most of her crew, but for him most of all. Now he wouldn't even turn to greet her, never even took his eyes off that damned console.

Shepard thought about reminding him her door was always open if he'd needed her, but the tension in the room had made it so awkward she nearly did a combat roll to get out of there. A low growl escaped his lips as the doors came to a close, leaving her confused and alone inside the empty hall. He'd never been so cold before. She valued their friendship because Garrus was so easy to talk to.

She shrugged it off,eventually the pouty Turian would return to his usual self. That or finally give in and tell her what it was that was bothering him. She had rounds to make after all, time to check in with the rest of the crew.

Walking back into the Mess Hall she reached the table with all the coffee pots. Suspiciously eyeing the one marked 'DEXTRO' she picked up the remaining two and scanned them with her omni-tool. 'amino based substance' it blipped back at her twice, _phew_. It'd been awhile since anyone thought it would be comical to switch the two (and by anyone she meant Joker). But that "good laugh" had robbed her out of about 15,000 credits for med supplies, not to mention a quarter of the crew who were unlucky enough to have severe reactions on sick leave.

Tali lazily came into Shepard's peripherals, slightly bumping her Commander's shoulder with her own. "Good morning, Shepard." Tali managed to groan out before yawning, stretching her arms to shake off her grogginess. She reached out towards the coffee pot furthest away from the 'DEXTRO' marked machine, "Morning Tali." Shepard chimed back, shooing the oblivious quarians hand away from the amino based coffee and redirecting it to the dextro. "Long night?" she managed with a grin as Tali nodded, realizing her nearly fatal mistake before thanking Shepard.

Sitting at the mess hall main table the rest of the crew slowly began to pour in. Liara joined the two as they recanted missions while away from each other, laughing and reminiscing. Jack, EDI, Joker, Mordin, and Thane soon followed. The Mess Hall had sprung to life and the sounds of forks and knives scraping against cantina trays filled it's once silent hall.

"Morning Princess!" Wrex's voice boomed over the idle chatter, dropping his plate with a clamour onto the steel table between Joker and Shepard.

"Uhh, good morning Wrex?" Shepard said hesitantly when all was silent after the loud slam.

"I think that was for me." Joker flinched as the large krogan nestled himself between the two of them, one good swipe from those arms and half the bones in his body would be shattered to bits. Wrex laughed as he raised his hand, "You learn quick!" his enormous krogan claw looming over the best pilot in the galaxies shoulder.

Shepard was already out of her seat and darting for Wrex's hand when she let out a shout, "Wait!" her hand clasping around Wrex's wrist.

"Oh, Sorry Joker." he lowered his arm back to the table.

"Maybe we shouldn't let the crazy 500lb krogan sit next to the guy with brittle bones disease..." Joker's usual smartass tone doubling as he scooted away from the mass of a krogan and closer to EDI.

"Why not?" Wrex said between gnashing his food, " Helps build a little backbone-" Shepard gave Wrex a sharp look and he fumbled to correct his words, "Uhh, oh. Sorry again, Joker.".

EDI seemed to be calculating something before the words escaped her mouth, "Humorous jab, I will store this in my data files for further use." Joker whirled around to look at her and there was surprise in the crew's faces that he hadn't broken a bone from the movement alone.

"You always like the terrible jokes, EDI." Joker batted back.

"This might explain why I find your jokes exceptionally pleasing, Jeff." The whole crew stifled their laughs from EDIs reply as Joker leaned over the table shoving his tray away from him, groaning, "It's not even eight in the morning yet,guys! Low blow!" his fist thudding against the steel table.

Shepard glanced at the clock, Joker had been right, it was nearly 8 as they finished their breakfasts. "Time to get to work!" The Commander in her stepping out to let her crew know the time for fun and games had come to an end. "What about Garrus?" Tali glanced over to the Main Battery with concern lining her words, Shepard had nearly forgotten about their talk earlier, or at least her attempt to talk to him.

"I guess he's not hungry." Shepard had tried to sound as inexpressive in her response as humanly possible. Her eyes lingered on the Main Battery doors for a moment longer than she would've liked, she missed his flanging laugh in their early morning discussions over breakfast. She tore her eyes away from the Battery's entrances and headed for the elevator.

 _No breakfast, either? He'd always say a good meal is key in a soldier's regimen._ It only made her worries skyrocket as the elevator lazily moved towards the Command Bay. Why wouldn't he talk to her…

She gave herself a mental slap to the face, "Stop it, Shep. Focus! The Reapers are getting closer and closer each day." her fingers tapping against her elbow as she leaned against the wall with folded arms. Yes, she cared for her Turian crewmate, perhaps a little bit more than she should have. But they'd known each other for years and he'd grown from that frustrated, hot-headed C-Sec officer standing on the steps of the Citadel tower begging her to take him with her to one of the fiercest snipers in all the galaxies. The name Archangel still hung in the air on Omega, stinging his enemies throats as the name escaped them and giving hope to the rest. Seeing him again on Palaven had ignited something deep inside her, a hope for the future that had been clouded only seconds before.

The elevator pinged, dragging Shepard from her thoughts. Life bustled through the halls of the Command Deck as she stepped from the elevator. Everyone was doing their part, each knowing the role they must play. She was damned proud of her ship along with the entire crew in its confines, this is what being a great Commander was all about.

Traynor had spotted her first, a wide smile creeping across her face, "Good morning, Commander!" she said happily. Sometimes Traynor made her uncomfortable by just how bubbly and all over the place she could be, nonetheless she was a god damned good whatever-her-title was. "You have new messages in your private terminal." she added , punching a few buttons on the terminal before returning to face Shepard. "Morning Traynor." Shepard gave her a smile back, not quite as cheerful as the one she'd been given but she'd never been known to be eccentric.

She'd seen it then, the gleam in Sam's eyes was unmistakable. She had some juicy bit of gossip she was begging to get out. Shepard pretended to miss the cue entirely, turning to the galaxy map instead. Whatever it had been she didn't have the time. Her crew had become stagnant, desperate for a sense of adventure, a mission that didn't involve fighting off Cerberus goons. She zoomed through the planets, searching for a mission-anything in fact that could help her and her crew break free of the mundane. She searched as far as the Hades Nebula (anything further ran the risk of Reapers) for some sort of transmission or signs of distress. Nothing. She leaned against the railing, putting all her weight on her arms and hung her head. It was too early in the fight to announce shore leave…

"There was a bit of an argument this morning in the crew's cabin." Traynor piped, the gossip had found it's way out after all. Shepard raised her head and turned to the private terminal, giving up on the search, "Was it the two who're always in the mess hall? They never know when to stop bickering." she slid her fingers across the hub, lighting up the display with a large mail icon flashing in the middle. "No." Traynor paused, the anticipation of her reveal only made Shepard regret her decision to give in, "It was Jack and Garrus." her voice was full of content as the names of her crewmates drifted from her lips, followed by a wide smile.

"Garrus?" Shepard looked up from her mail, shock resonating through her query, "We are talking about the same turian here,right? Calm, calculating and sometimes sarcastic Garrus?" the disbelief evident in her tone. Traynor had been delighted to see the interest spark in Shepard and nodded intently,"Seems Jack gave him a hard time for 'moaning' in his sleep. " her eyes wide , ears thirsty for Shepard's reaction, "I don't think I've ever heard Garrus so cross before.". _For Garrus to go off like that... it must've been the nightmares...oh, Garrus. He's never lashed out, at best he'd just say some snarky comment and go along with his day._ Shepard noticed Traynor's hungry eyes on her and returned to her mail, "Thank you , Traynor. I'll be sure to talk to them both about the matter." she sighed a relief when Sam dropped the conversation all together.

Shepard scanned her mail. Three new messages in all, all of them equally boring. Two were shipments for The Normandy that had arrived at the Citadel, probably just miscellaneous parts for minor fixes and food rations. The third had been a thank you letter from their most recent mission. She had loved those letters of appreciation at first, but with the Reapers drawing closer she thought of how those efforts would go to waste if they managed to obliterate everything in their path. Failing was not an option, not when the weight of the galaxy rested on her shoulders, this wasn't just about humanity anymore.

She closed the terminal, the lights going out in one fowl blip. Hands gripping the side of the terminal she ground her teeth, now was not the time to lose it. It was about living day by day, one foot in front of the other, she never spent too much time thinking about the end result. In truth it scared the shit out of her.

"Incoming, Commander." EDI's voice fizzled through static over the comm. Before Shepard could form a thought the lights of the Normandy glowed with profound intensity before all going out at once. There was a slight gasp before complete silence washed over the Command Deck, low murmurs followed shortly afterwards. "Everyone okay?" Shepard reached out into the darkness, feeling her way around the room. Her crew certainly knew how to keep a leveled head, that much was for sure. Reassurance called from every corner of the darkness as she fumbled through, making her way to the cockpit. She stopped dead in her tracks as static burst through every terminal in view, keyboards and emergency lights gave off enough of a glow for assessment. Everyone seemed fine, no enemies in sight, that much she was thankful for.

"Transmitted." EDI's voice crackled through once more, and before Shepard could demand clarification fluorescent light flooded every corner of the Deck once more. Modules and holograms came back seconds later ,almost as if nothing had ever happened. "Traynor, status!" Shepard commanded, no one messed with her ship and the same went for her crew. "Everything is a go… Weapons are operational, seems like the only power cut was on this floor. System malfunction maybe?" she continued to check every department meticulously before arriving to the same conclusion, "EDI?".

"No security breaches detected. Monitoring all back up systems for suspicious encryptions…" EDI's voice fell over the confused crew on deck, "Shepard… you have a new message in your private terminal." the voices filling the room with suspicious chatter.

Shepard folded her arms, "Now is hardly the time to be reading messages, EDI." she was growing impatient, wanting answers for what had just messed with her ship.

"You will want to see this one. They left you a little present." EDI's voice falling silent along with the murmuring in the room. Shepard calmly walked over to the terminal and saw the one new message, breathing in deeply she opened the virtual envelope and saw a string of bizarre symbols. "Can we clear this up? It all looks like a bunch of hieroglyphics…" she scrolled up and down through the incoherent symbols, "Negative. They have no recurring pattern. There is no match in my database of any known languages or scripture." Shepard gave a low growl, "This thing messed with my ship. I need to know what it is."

"Understood Commander. While no text correlates to these symbols I have picked up coordinates from the transmission. Marking them on your map now." Finally something to distract her crew. Shepard beamed at the thought, "Looks like we have a new mission after all."


	3. SKY

**Thank you everyone who's taken the time to read this so far! My first fanfic ever I uh, will try to do my best! A warning that this is going to get strange, and also a warning that the rating will most likely go up to M. I do not own any characters, they are strictly creations of Bioware. Hope you enjoy it!**

If there had ever been a chance of Garrus coming off as normal he'd certainly blew it in his conversation with Commander Shepard. He stood there as she left, hands gripping the terminal's frame and mind reeling through the many ways it could've gone better, the thought of his actions making him feel sick. She had reached out to him in a desperate attempt to sooth his anxieties and what had he done? Turned a cold shoulder to not only one of his few remaining friends, but the best damned Commander he ever had the honor to work with. She deserved more than that. He growled low in frustration as the Battery doors came to a close for his foolishness. It had never been Shepard's fault. She was merely doing her job watching over her crew, it was him- his curious mind bringing to light such foolish feelings that had wronged him. Unforgiving and unrelenting thoughts of Shepard, whose eyes held the most tantalizing of gazes as they bore into him. Her scent still lingering there with him even minutes after she'd left his presence, he found it hard to focus yet again, his mind running circles between particle rays and the thought of her soft human lips upon his neck. Garrus had always found strong women incredibly enticing but nothing ranging out of his species. This was Commander Shepard though, and her actions far surpassed her fleshy appearance.

Commotion began to brew from the other side of the doors, Archangel fought long and hard with himself as to if he should join the crew in their morning meal. Despite his protesting stomach he decided against it, knowing full well he'd just make things worse for both the crew and himself. The crew of the Normandy had been on edge the past few days. Shepard most of all, but she had no time to worry about her own problems. Instead she focused on those surrounding her, tending to as many needs as humanly possible. She'd often go above and beyond to keep them all content. Maybe when this feeling had passed and his thoughts finally quelled he would go to her, apologize and ask her how she was doing. With a clear plan of action he felt his resolve thickening and his thoughts receded long enough to resume his calibrations, the sounds of laughter from the Mess Hall flushed away by whirling metal. It felt like hours to Garrus when the Battery doors opened with a hiss yet again, the noise reverberating like a gunshot in his ears after the long silence. He willed his body to turn this time, weighing between hope and fear to see Shepard standing before him once more.

"It's not like you to skip the early meals." Tali's voice happily trilled as she carried a metal tray with dextro provisions into the room. "Oh," a tinge of disappointment hung in his throat upon seeing the quarian,"Morning Tali. Didn't mean to mean to make you worry, I've been wrapped up in-" "Calibrations?" she butted in with a teasing tone, setting the tray next to his sniper rifle on the workbench in the right hand corner. Garrus managed a signature subvocal chuckle as he turned towards her,"Yeah, same as always." his back leaning against the configuration terminal. He'd heard the jest about his calibrations a few times and quite frankly it was beginning to lose it's charm.

"I saved you some rations, we didn't want you going into combat without a good meal." Tali walked over and leaned against the counter alongside Garrus, arms folded as she looked up towards the turian. "If it didn't taste so bad I'd almost have to thank you for it." he managed to tease her back, the young quarian jabbing her elbow into his in a playful manner before letting out a small chuckle,"If you want my shotgun as backup in combat you'd better!". The silence crept over them both for a few takes of breath, the mood abruptly shifting as Tali spoke again,"I really hope we all make it through this." her voice was pained and low, almost a whisper. "With Shepard I wouldn't doubt it. She's not one to leave anyone behind." Garrus managed to respond delicately. Of all the times for a serious conversation with Tali it had to be now. Usually he'd respond with something clever to get her to laugh but the quick change left him at a loss of a witty comeback.

"You're right." Tali must've sensed his forced response, her voice suddenly becoming cheerful once again,"Best thing to do now is help out where we can. And..and if we fail some missions..." she trailed off with her head hanging low, her optimism faltering.

"There's always the bar." He smoothed his voice over the rest of her sentence, flaring his mandibles into a turian version of a smile.

The little quarian seemed comforted by his words, her gaze returning to him yet again as the eyes behind her mask squinted into what he could only assume was a reciprocating smile. _Damn, this smiling thing really was infectious_. Tali then pushed herself away from the counter and headed for the doors, "Thank you, Garrus..." she said quietly while rubbing the elbow of her left arm with the right hand.

"Oh, and Tali?" Garrus called out to her as she began walking away, her glowing face turning towards him again, "Next time we visit the Citadel the drinks are on me."

Tali stood a little straighter, her voice disputing him sweetly, "Keelah, I don't think you have the creds to live up to that one, Garrus!" they shared another chuckle before she waved him a goodbye.

Garrus had been elated to have another dextro based life form aboard the Normandy. Not only had they increased the rations but also improved their formula, albeit not by much. It was much better than trying to suck food out of what humans called a tube of toothpaste, which had been extremely difficult given the lack of lips turians possessed. Garrus' stomach reminded him of the tray Tali had left next to his sniper rifle and refused to let any part of his body continue until he complied. He grabbed a rations pack from the corner workbench and settled back to working on his poor, deserted algorithms. _Maybe I do calibrate a little more than I should_ he reflected while taking a bite of the nutrient bar, his other hand keying in numbers through the console. He just finished upgrading the Normandy's Thanix Cannon for the third time this week when EDI's voice blared overhead.

"All squad members please report to the conference room on Deck 2 for standard mission debriefing." the AI's voice going out with a short burst of static following, an unusual occurrence for the cutting edge ship. He was going to have to face his fears this morning whether he liked it or not. Finishing off the remaining calculations Vakarian made his way to his armor locker which was neatly stowed under his workbench. He quickly opened it's latches, revealing his newest set of armor and removing it from it's case. Shepard found it in some back alley shop on the outskirts of the Citadel and had presented it to him with a wide smile across her face, in which he happily accepted the present. The armor was a bit too flashy for his taste as there were thirty lights too many jutting out from all its surfaces. Shepard and Liara had spent one ride back from a mission counting them all, both arriving at a total of thirty-four. He had grumbled then, armor was designed to shield from bullets not direct them where to go. In time he grew fond of it, every mission was a challenge when he was a blinking target.

Working from his grieves up, Garrus attached the clasps with deft talons before finally finishing with his arms. He'd spent almost every day since the age of fifteen inside his armor, it was no longer just sheets of metal for protection, it had became a part of him. His visor was last, which lay inactive next to his sniper rifle and it's cleaning supplies. Once adjusted the visor came to life over his left eye, providing him with a plethora of information for the room surrounding him.

Garrus strode towards the doors, footsteps echoing as he left his sanctuary and headed for the elevator. Thoughts of the recent Reaper invasion flashed through his head and he was reminded of his father and sister still on Palaven. Had they found refuge in a stronghold? He'd hoped as much, even went as far to convince himself that Vakarians were too stubborn to die. He even had the scars to prove it. He was pulled from his thoughts as he made his way through the Command Deck, the entire crew seemed rattled as they mumbled between one another. His visor picked up their heart rates which showed drastic influxes for humans, a common reading for rushes of adrenaline. Or fear. Had he missed something?

He continued on, reaching the conference room filled with his fellow squadmates. Everyone stood restlessly around the oval table save for a few stragglers. Jack, of course was nowhere to be found. It was no wonder she was never selected for missions, always barging in ready to kill something when she was clueless to the objective. Nothing upset him more than her terrible attendance although her tattoos came in close second. None of her obscene markings had a single thing to do with a clan, so what was the point? Humans were strange. Seeing her spot empty at the table gave the turian some relief after their morning encounter, at least the contents of their argument wouldn't be the centerpiece of this briefing. He looked around the room, taking his spot two spaces away from the head of the table, Liara to his left and Tali to his right. They both whispered a small hello, Tali's eyes of sublime light narrowing into small slits for a smile. He returned the greeting before turning his head towards the Communications Room where faint echoes wafted out of it's open doors, "Hackett out." the Admiral's voice extinguishing the remaining light shining out of the open doors. Wrex snickered from his spot across the table,"Never gets old." which prompted a few stifled laughs from the non-humans standing in the room before Kaidan shot them a displeased look.

Metal on metal scraped against each other as Commander Shepard emerged from the darkness of the Comm Room. Her blazing hair shone with radiance from the stale light of the Normandy, much like the fires on Palaven when she'd found him again on Menae. She was above average height for a human female from his observations, but nothing in comparison to his nearly seven foot turian structure. Garrus only assumed her Cerberus augmentations aided her growth, _cheater_. Her body was nothing in resemblance of a turian female, built yet curvey, encased in her dark armor. _Spirits, her hips..._ , a low rattle whirled inside his chest, he'd always had a certain weakness for hips even if hers lacked angular definition. Her diligent saunter let him drink in the curves he'd never took the time to appreciate before and now would never be able to forget. The most beautiful thing about her had been her strength. The certain aura she emitted every time she entered the room, it was electrifying. He marveled at her as she took her place at the head of the table , arms drawn behind her back into a relaxed parade rest. Dead once, countless close calls and yet there she stood and he couldn't take his eyes off her. A tinny cough emitted from the quarian to his right, prompting him to break free from Shepard's intoxicating trance.

"Garrus, glad to see you could make it, we were getting worried." his Commander said coolly as she punched a few keys into the Comm Room console, a small hologram with the Alliance emblem springing to life in the middle of their huddle. The wrenching in his stomach returned as his name rolled off her tongue, sending him into a stammering response,"Just h-had a few things that needed to be calibrated, Commander.". _Damn it, no wonder the whole crew jokes about it._ He faced her as she leaned over the table, her arms supporting her weight with one hip drawn out to the side, "Just remember to come up for air." she jested, her dull teeth exposed a smile.

He'd sworn he would come undone then, forcing the rumble in his chest to subside as he peered into those icy blues. How forgiving she'd been after his demeanor this morning as she now stood smiling before him as if nothing had happened. "Shepard, I..." his usual purr returning once he could focus, only to feel the eyes of his peers baring into him. Shepard had felt it too it seemed, her body straightening with hands behind her back once again, the stoic commander resurfacing. Garrus cleared his throat awkwardly as his eyes glanced around the room at his smirking squadmates.

Shepard broke the silence with her sharp voice, "The Normandy's CIC Deck was compromised earlier by an unknown cybernetic attack, resulting in a total blackout on Deck Two. Luckily all systems are intact and the crew suffered zero injuries. However..." she leaned over once again, hovering her hand above the hub link for the hologram display. The Alliance emblem faded from view, replaced with walls of endless scripture tinted in a sickly green. The ominous glow illuminated the teams face, each observing every meticulous detail. Garrus had never seen such markings before, the letters seemingly running into one another to create such of conflagration of green it nearly hurt his eyes. He looked to the Shadow Broker on his left, surely she would have something and yet she seemed just as disoriented as anyone else. Even Javik held a quiet stance, the look of defeat flashing over his Prothean features before returning to it's usual cold expression. Shepard held her pause a moment longer before continuing, "Once our systems resumed this message was found in my private terminal. Liara, any ideas?" she turned towards the asari who opened her omni-tool and began scanning.

"Slightly reminiscent of Reaper code, but it is hard to say for sure. It may take some time to research." The asari paused before speaking again, "...Although there are symbols I see that are derived from the asari language.".

"I see letters from quarian writing as well." Tali pointed to a few pieces in the script, turning the text to a tint of orange. Garrus had seen it then, the writing of his species mixed into an array of scribble far too complex to make sense of, "As well as Turian." he followed Tali in highlighting the few familiar markings he could find.

"Salarian as well. Interesting cypher." Mordin followed suite, selecting a few more.

"Krogan too." Wrex selected two small tack marks, feeling a need to explain as the crew threw him inquisitive looks "We are a species of few words. We prefer to write our names with the blood of our enemies.".

"Big surprise there." Kaiden muttered which coaxed a snicker from Wrex.

"Someone was smart not to mix Prothean among the primitive languages." Javik's thick accent rang with pride, drawing out a few sighs and head shakes from the rest of the team.

So far they hadn't even made a dent, more than ninety percent of the bizarre message still an infuriating green with dots of orange stretched out between its lines. EDI's system wasn't capable of picking up the individual symbols since they ran together continuously. Garrus looked to Shepard who's intent eyes scanned the code with furrowed brows, the green light reflecting off her smooth face. Her lips parted before she selected a few letters, "On Earth we have a few different languages, but I see a some letters from our English alphabet."

Kasumi followed after Shepard, "These are Kanji and although I can't read one of them..." she pointed to the closest one near the top, "This one means 'Sky'." Shepard smiled brightly towards the thief , seeming relieved to finally have something make sense however small it may have been.

Garrus could no longer stand the sight of the repulsive text sprawled out before them, his head pounding as it sought relief from the green which engulfed the room. Each attempt had been weaker than the last, the group clearly showing distress from continuous failure. Shepard exhaled a deep sigh before switching the hologram display, her hand rising to meet the bridge of her nose. Although he was glad to finally escape the eerie glow of green, the next display was all the more confusing.

Velvety red clouds stretched over most of the planet, small patches exposed the lush greenery underneath. It was beautiful, a prime spot for a resort, Garrus imagined. Yet he'd never seen a planet quite like it, so vivid in color. Mordin and Liara eagerly sprang forward, observing and voicing their hypothesis amongst each other. Every few minuets or so a small speck of green light would escape the planet's atmosphere, dissipating a few seconds beyond it's clouds.

"The transmission that disrupted our systems came from this planet. " EDI chimed in, her roboticesque voice shushing the two eager explorers, "Galaxy documentation shows no pre-recorded data of this planet. Further readings analyze that there are no signs of organics, number of synthetics unknown, unable to scan further due to interference from planet's core.".

"Do we know which Solar System?" Liara asked with overwhelming enthusiasm.

"The Sol System." Shepard said flatly, her eyes locked on to the mysterious planet. Garrus knew that look all too well, it was the kind she gave before charging into battle, the certain spark that set fire to her enemies. "No one messes with my ship." a grim rasp in her voice as she spoke low, "And no one messes with the Sol System.".


End file.
